


I See You

by Jealous_Pretzel11



Category: Country Music RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, I Love You, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 03:43:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4289460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jealous_Pretzel11/pseuds/Jealous_Pretzel11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Had a dream about this in the car while listening to I See You by Luke Bryan. It's been in my head all day.*</p><p>Luke and Jake had everything. Or so they thought. When Jake leaves Luke for some chick he barely knows, Luke is crushed. Jake moves on, but Luke is stuck on him, seeing him wherever he goes. Brian wants to help Luke move on, but not in the way he is. Tyler steps in and gets Brian out of the trouble he's gotten himself into. <br/>And as for the future of Jake and Luke? Well you won't know if you don't read it, huh?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I See You

**Author's Note:**

> I fell into that like half-asleep state where you can dream, yet kind of manipulate it, you know? Yeah that happened and the song I See You came on, and things played out in my head, so I just vomited this out. I apologize if this is horrible. =D  
> <3 Sydney

"Luke, come on, you have to move on. He's gone." Dierks sighs, standing outside my apartment. I throw my glass at the door, liking the shattering noise it makes as the piece fall to the ground.   
"Did you throw a freaking cup at the door? Jesus, Luke." He exclaims. I roll my eyes, laying on the couch and shutting my eyes. Why do they care so much? Just let me wallow in my freaking self pity.   
"Luke, babe, come on, open the door." I know that voice. That's... My eyes widen, and I'm at the door in less than a second, undoing the locks and throwing it open. Dierks, Tyler and Brian are standing there. But... I know I heard him. Oh my God, I'm going insane. Dierks looks shocked. Whether it's because the door is open, or because I look like shit, I don't know.   
"Hey, man." Tyler offers me a sad smile. I roll my eyes, turning around and shutting the door. Dierks' foot slides into the space before it can close, and he walks in, followed by FGL. I growl under my breath, walking into my kitchen. "Come on, we're taking you out. Go get a shower, shave, and change. We're leaving in thirty." Brian says, grabbing my wrist and dragging me towards my bedroom.   
They're right. I have to move on eventually. I'll go out with them, get fall-over-stupid drunk, and maybe even have a good time. Jake can screw off for all I care. I grab a button down, and a pair of jeans and underwear, walking into my bathroom. Jesus, I do look like shit. I get in the shower, doing all the normal shower things, before getting out and doing the other bathroom things. I get dressed, and look completely normal. As if I'm not completely fucked up.   
"You look great, calm down." Jake says. I whip around, but no one is there. I'm literally insane.   
I shake my head, trying to not to let my composure break. I grab my phone, before walking back out to the guys. Dierks hands me my jacket, smiling. I grin a little, grabbing my wallet. "Nope." Tyler denies, snatching my wallet and putting it back on the table. "We're paying. Our treat." Brian pipes in. I shrug, pulling on my jacket, and noticing the glass pieces are missing. "Picked it up while you were in the shower." Tyler tells me. I nod. 

The ride to the bar is uneventful, until Dierks decides to turn on the radio. I cringe, tears coming to my ear as the familiar lyrics of Beachin' comes through the speakers. Tyler shuts the song off before I'm even able to hear three words of his voice. Flashbacks of helping him write that song come to mind, flashing before my eyes like lightning. I'm never going to be able to do that again. I shake my head, wiping my eyes. I'm moving on. 

Four beers in, I start getting a little tipsy. The band that's playing is actually pretty good. To my horror, as they are playing one of their songs, a guy with chocolate shoulder length locks climbs up on stage with the band. Jake. My grasp on my beer tightens. He looks at me and winks, smirking. I blink, not believing this. But of course, as quick as he was there, he's gone. He wasn't ever up there. I turn back towards the bar, shaking my head and taking another sip of beer. "Come dance with me." Jake whispers in my ear. I shutter, ignoring the imaginary kisses on my neck. They aren't real. He's not here.   
"You okay, man?" Brian asks. I notice Dierks and Tyler have moved closer to the band, dancing. I smile a little. "Because I'm willing to help however I can." He whispers. I turn to him. I don't want to use him. I can't do that to him. He's my friend. One of my best friends, actually. How could I use my best friend, and expect him to not hate me. "Hey, it's fine. Whatever you need. It's cool. Don't think I'm going to hate you or anything. Because I won't." He coos, smiling at me. "Anything?" I whisper. He might jut be what I need to move on. He nods, and I can't help but notice how close he is. "Come back to my place with me..." I murmur, feeling his breath hitting my face. "Okay. They're coming back." Brian moves away from me, turning his attention to Tyler. "The band is shutting down. You guys ready to go?" Tyler asks. I nod. They pay for the drinks, and we leave. My phone buzzes in my pocket as we're climbing in the truck.   
I pull it out, freezing.   
'New Message from - Jake: I'm sorry. I need you. Please take me back?' My mouth drops open. This isn't happening. "You okay?" Brian asks, sitting next to me in the back seat. I show him the message. "Your mom found the shirt she's been missing for months?" He asks, looking at me like I have three heads. I frown, looking at the screen again. Sure enough, it's from mom. What the hell? I shake my head, typing mom a quick "Awesome" before closing my eyes and falling backwards against the seat. "Hey Ty, I'm gonna stay at Luke's place tonight, make sure he's okay, okay?" Brian tells Tyler. Tyler and Dierks share a look, before Tyler responses with an 'alright'.   
Are they really already onto it? Whatever. Dierks pulls up to my place. I tell them bye, climbing out of the truck with Brian following me.   
I go straight to the kitchen, rinsing a cup out and filling it with water, downing it.   
"Let me help you." Brian begs, following me. I turn around, coming face to face with him. "Are you sure about this, B? I don't want to use you just cause my boyfriend left me." I sigh. He nods. "100%." 

The first kiss is slow and kind of awkward, our noses bumping together. The second one is easier, our lips moving together. It's the third one that sets things going, though, my hands pulling him closer, his hips pressed against mine. It's easy to forget about your troubles when there's a hot guy dragging you to your bed, even if you've known him for years and he's one of your best friends.   
"Fuck." I groan. I'll probably regret this in the morning, but oh well. 

The next morning, I wake up wrapped in Brian's arms. I slide off the bed, grabbing my phone and going into the bathroom. Jake is sitting on the counter. I shut the door. "I don't need you anymore. You left me. Leave me alone." I growl.   
"Oh, but you know that's not true." He says. I blink and he's gone. I roll my eyes, opening my phone up and reading through our old texts. I thought he loved me. I shake my head, locking my phone and climbing in the shower.  
My skin is tinged pink when I get out. It might've been a little hot. Brian is awake when I go back in my room. "Hey." He sighs, sitting up. I sit next to him. He kisses me. "You hungry?" I ask. He nods. "I'll make us food then. You can use my shower if you want. I'm sure my clothes will fit you too." I tell him, standing up. I go to the kitchen, realizing how big of a dump it is. Jake and I used to always do the dishes together. Tears come to my eyes as I load the dishwasher.   
That's when I notice it. His ring. His promise ring. I glance down to my identical one, that we gave each other, telling each other we'd be together until we could use a different ring. Now, the silver band lay forgotten on the windowsill, slightly behind a jar I never bothered to put away. I pull off my dog tags, unlatching the ball-chain clasp and sliding the ring onto it. Tears fall. I wipe them away frantically, not wanting Brian to come out here and see me crying. I pull out the ingredients for pancakes, ignoring Jake out of the corner of my eye. I need to Google that later. But I can't let Brian know. He'd think I was insane. He'd give up on me. I make the pancakes, trying not to think of anything else except not burning them. I sing Roller Coaster under my breath as I cook. A habit I've had for years. Jake found it adorable. No. We aren't thinking about him.   
But it's so hard. He was a part of every aspect of my life. I can't even close my eyes without him in my dreams.   
I finish the pancakes, thinking about how if Jake were here, he'd already be eating them off the plate before I was even done cooking them. I set the plate on the table, trying not to look at Jake's empty seat. I can't help it though. He's everywhere. I slide down the wall, holding his ring in my hand. I sob, knowing and not caring that Brian is going to find me like this.   
After a while, arms wrap around me. I lean into Brian, my cries only getting louder. "It's okay... It's okay, Luke. Let it out. I'm here." He says. He's such a good guy and I'm scum.   
That's it. That's why. I'm scum. I wasn't good enough for him because I'm nothing. Worthless. I'm pathetic.   
I wipe my eyes. "I've figured it out." I whisper, telling him my new breakthrough. He denies it, telling me that I'm perfect and that it's Jake's loss, but it doesn't make sense. Why would he leave me if I were perfect?

After we eat, Brian leaves to go take care of things at his house. As soon as he's out the door, I grab my laptop, falling on the couch. I start typing before I can stop myself.   
'Jake Owen seen with mystery girl at the movies yesterday'   
'Finally some romance in Jake's Life?'  
'Mystery Girl Confirmed: Alice Kays'   
'Is There a Ring?!'   
The headlines pop up faster than I can read them. So that's her name Alice. I shake my head, clicking pictures. Pictures of him come up. Man, these are no where near as good as the ones I have of him on my phone. But still. He's gorgeous. I shake my head, closing the tab and typing in 'keep seeing ex everywhere, not really there' and click on the first link. Apparently, it's pretty normal. The site says that that's the mind's way of helping you get over it quicker. I wonder if he's seeing me? I doubt it. 

A week goes by with Brian and I being pretty much inseparable. He knows I'm not over Jake and doesn't expect me to be. He's there to hold my when I cry, and fuck me when I need it. "Luke." He says one night. I'm laying next to him. I know that tone of voice. That's the tone Jake used when he told me he was leaving. "Luke, we can't keep doing this. I wanted to help you, but this clearly isn't working. I can still come over and hang out, but I don't think I can..." He trails off, not looking at me. I sit up. He's practically breaking up with me too. "No, no, it's cool. I get it." I mutter, running a hand through my hair.   
"Luke, no you don't. I'd be perfectly fine keep up what we've got going on, except... I made the mistake of letting it slip to Tyler, and he kind of... he told me he's in love with me, Luke. I think I might love him too." Brian admits. Yay, more people finding love before I do. I put on a smile just for him though. "Hey, like I said, it's cool. You should go to him. Make sure he knows. Tonight." I tell him. I just want him out of the house.  
"Are you going to be okay?" Brian asks, leaning against my door frame. I just nod, because I know if I speak, I'll start crying. I swallow the tears and say "I'm a man, I'll deal with it. Go to Tyler. He needs you." Brian smiles a little, hugging me. I hug him back, before watching him walk away. I shake my head, shutting the door.   
That night I get the drunkest I've ever been in my entire life. No one. I literally have no one. I end up passed out in my bathtub with bloody knuckles from punching the shit out of tile walls. My hands might be broken, but who knows, and who cares? 

Jake and I have been broken up for a month now. It's been two weeks since I broken my left hand. I'm still really messed up about it, but I'm putting it to good use now. I've written two songs in the past 48 hours. I'm recording them tomorrow, so I have to make sure that I'm sober tonight so I don't mess up tomorrow.  
The first song I record without a hitch, only having to do it two times for the producers to like the recording. The second one, however, called I See You, takes longer. I wrote this one about how I keep seeing Jake everywhere. In fact, one of the reasons I kept messing up the recording was because Jake was sitting there, in the booth with me while I sang. But of course, he actually wasn't.   
I See You hit #1 pretty quickly, which really isn't surprising. I wonder if Jake's heard it yet. Jason and Dierks both called me last night telling me they liked it. Then of course, Jason mentioned a party that happened, where a bunch of people got seriously wasted. Out of curiosity, I asked him if Jake was there, and he said he was, and that he was getting really drunk, talking about how he was single again, and that that Alice chick must not have worked out.   
So basically, Jake is single, and hasn't come back to me yet, so therefor it wasn't just Alice that made him leave. It was me.   
I'm laying on my bed, not wanting to move, when my cell phone rings. I groan, answering it. It's Brian. I haven't talked to him since he left. "What's up?" I ask.   
"Are you sober?" He asks.   
"Yeah, why?"   
"Get dressed and meet me at Buttermilk Cafe downtown, I have a surprise for you." He says. I groan. "I don't wanna."   
"You'll regret it if you don't. Meet me down here in 15, okay?" He tells me. "Yeah." I answer, hanging up. 

 

Buttermilk Cafe is pretty much empty when I get there. I see Tyler and Brian in a seat near the back. I tell the lady that I'm with them, and go sit. There's another drink. Someone else is here. I raise my eyebrows at them. They shrug, smirking. I sit down, ordering a Dr. Pepper from the waitress. "What's going on? Who's here?" I question. Are they trying to set me up with another chick? I might just take them up on it, this time. I'm starting to get over Jake. I can function like a normal human being now. I guess she's in the bathroom or something. "Just, don't... Don't hate us if things go south, okay?" Tyler asks. I frown at them. What are they talking about? "Um, okay, I guess." I agree, not sure if I'm ready for what they're getting me into. What if she's some crazy Russian bodybuilder or something?!   
Both Tyler and Brian are looking at something behind me. I guess this is it. Finally get to meet this chick. I bite my lip, before turning around.   
Oh.   
My.   
God.   
It's him. It's Jake.   
It's the first time I've seen him since he left the house that horrible morning a month ago. Tears come to my eyes, and everything that I've been pushing past this entire time comes rushing back to me. Jake's here. I'm not making it up this time.   
But wait. What if I am. What if there's no one standing there? I'll blink my eyes and he'll be gone. "H-Hey..." He whispers. All the 'ghost' hims sounds no where near as real as this one. It's him. It's actually him. But why? He left me.   
I wipe my eyes, standing up. "W-Why are you here?" I stutter. I don't know if I can do this.   
"Luke, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was led on, thinking that if I could get away from you, you could have a future with someone you could be seen with in public as a couple. I thought that if I left you, you'd move on, and be happy. I found Alice at a club one night, and we decided we were going to be a thing, just for you. But then I heard your song, and Brian told me you were a wreck, and I couldn't do it anymore. Not a day went by where I didn't think about you, or nearly call you. I just wanted you to be happy. I'm so sorry. And, if there's any hope left, any way at all, would you take me back?" Jake asks. It's like he's filling the hole that's been in my heart right back up. Like it was never there. I nod, taking the last couple steps to him and hugging him with everything I have. He's mine again. This is the best day ever. Jake pulls away a little, kissing me. I kiss him back, even though we're in public. I'm sure that's why this normally full place is empty aside from the hostess, waitress, and chefs, who were probably paid or somehow made to keep it secret. After a second, he pulls away from me, kissing my forehead. I remember his ring, taking off my dog tags to give him it. "Actually, I don't want that." He says. What? Was this just a prank? Am I dreaming again or something?  
I think my confusion is written on my face, because he just laughs, kissing me again, before stepping back, pulling out a little black box, and getting down on one knee. Holy shit. Holy mother fucking shit.   
"Luke, you're my other half and I can't imagine my life without you. I want- no, I need you by my side for the rest of forever. If you will, will you take my hand and be my husband?" He asks. I start crying, grabbing his jacket and pulling him up. "Of course." I whisper, kissing him.   
My boyfriend just proposed to me. Oh my God. I laugh a little, hugging him. The hostess, waitress, two chefs, and Brian and Tyler all start clapping. I shake my head, smiling.   
"Happy now?" Brian asks, hugging me. I nod. "Thanks for, um, everything." I tell him. He nods, backing up. Tyler hugs me, too, before they say they're heading out. They hold hands until they get to the door. "Thanks for reserving the restaurant for my Sal." Jake says to one of the cooks. Wait, Sal? As in the Sal that Jake is always talking about, he dad's brother? Well then. And if looking at them isn't enough, I'd say everyone else here is related to Sal too. No wonder. Jake takes off my promise ring, sliding the wedding ring on. 

 

Eight months later, Gay Marriage is legalized in the USA. Jake is so happy that he claims he's going to explode. So, of course, we go to the courthouse the next week, making sure to keep it as private as possible.   
After another week of preparations, we go to the local orphanage who has agreed to keep everything as secret as possible, and adopt a 5 year old girl named Riley. It's hard to keep having a child secret, especially when both parents are famous, so we have to come out. We're going to lose a lot of fans because of this, but it's worth it. We've decided that during Jake's next concert, right before the last song comes on, which just so happens to be Beachin', Jake is going to get the crowd real silent, telling them that he's got something to tell them. I'm going to come out on stage, with Riley. Jake is going to tell them that for two years now, we've been dating, and that we've been married for a couple weeks now. We're going to tell them that Riley is our daughter, and that we're sorry to anyone who wants to leave because of this, but it's just how it is. 

Hopefully, this goes off without a hitch. I'm really nervous for it. It's the beginning of the song before Riley and I go out. I'm pacing, holding Riley as I wait. "Okay, guys, if you could settle down, stop making noise for a moment, there's something that I need to tell you." Jake says.   
I grin, kissing Riley's forehead before making my way out there. Please let them be okay with this.   
Kissing Jake on stage is so much different then I would imagine, so much better. There's so much freedom behind it you could call it the USA. Ha. Most of the fans are okay with it, a lot of them even cheering at us. Now, there are a handful, probably about 50 or 60 people who boo at us, and make their way to the exits, but it goes a lot better than expected. 

This is my life, and I couldn't be happier.


End file.
